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Hello and thanks for visiting my blog. I have been knitting on and off for 50 years and I recently learned to crochet. I love looking for wool bargains and making them into something useful. I mainly knit for charity. I occasionally knit for myself and family members if I find a really good pattern or if they ask nicely!!

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Wednesday, 28 October 2015

This is just a quick post to thank everyone who has sent me best wishes for my second eye op. It took place a week ago and it is a big relief to have both eyes finally working together. I'm also happy that I can now read, type, sew and knit to my heart's content.

I will definitely need reading glasses for finer work. But it's a bit too soon to order them as my prescription will continue to change for a while. So I am making do with off-the-shelf reading glasses. However, I find that I don't really need to use them until the evening. Our energy-saving light bulbs at home might need some rethinking as even my husband finds them useless for reading. It's all a bit of a learning curve at the moment.

I started this scarf a few weeks ago. The hat took just 2-3 days. The yarn is a 100% wool by Jaegar and it was donated to me by a generous person on Freecycle. The scarf is a simple crochet v-stitch and the hat is one of my regular favourite patterns by Pyrrha Designs. These will go off soon to Operation Orphan for their Keep A Child Warm project. I chose to make these two items in a size suitable for a teenager.

Yesterday, I treated myself to a rummage in my bags of yarn and picked out some really pretty yarn for a simple baby blanket. But that's another story.....

Friday, 16 October 2015

I'm glad to say that the baby blanket I started 7 weeks ago is now finished. It has served its purpose by keeping me company through some rather trying weeks as I recovered from one eye operation and prepare for the second one next week.

I had a very thorough check-up on the operated eye recently and the hospital staff are really impressed at how well I can see. I can read the bottom line on the eye chart which I have never been able to do before. I'm happy and amazed by that. The close-up vision for reading etc is also getting better, though I might eventually need glasses for very fine work. But that is ok and I am actually looking forward to being able to go back to my optician and surprise her with my new prescription.

The blanket pattern is here on Ravelry. For my version, I cast on 172 stitches on 5mm knitting needles. Just 270g of dk yarn gave me a blanket measuring 30" x 33". The pattern was easy to remember. Every fourth row involved yarn overs and careful counting and I'm pleased to say that I managed not to make any mistakes.

This blanket will go to a family baby at some time in the future. The 5mm needles have given it a lovely soft drape. The Robin acrylic yarn that I used means that it will wash well and put up with a lot of use over the years. I have more lovely baby yarn and will definitely make more of these.

Though my blogging has slowed down in relation to my knitting output, I am still enjoying reading all my favourite blogs. Happy October to everybody and thank you for all the good wishes you have been sending me. They really helped to cheer me up.